Bon Iver ’22, A Million’ – PREVIEW

“Justin has managed to connect such intimate, banal, and forgotten moments to many people”- You can’t sum up Justin Vernon better than this. He collates unheard sounds and makes them work together so harmoniously. ’22, A Million’ itself has new sounds, while also harking back to material that would fit seamlessly on ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’.

The opening lyrics on the LP, ‘it might be over soon’, signify the tone the album is going to take. It stays true to the aesthetic and vulnerability that Bon Iver convey through every song they create. Vernon is expressing a lot of pain on this album, as evidenced by these lyrics. “These sounds were the way out from the suffocating enclosure and captivity of anxiety”. For anyone who makes or listens to music and believes music can have a therapeutic effect, these words, about the making of the album will ring true, “these sounds were the way out from the suffocating enclosure and captivity of anxiety”. Bon Iver’s music hits you right in the heart – it makes you confront and feel deep seeded emotions you were unaware of.

The two songs that have already been released, ‘33 God’ and ’22 Over Soon’ reveal the overall context and sound of the album as a whole- It’s raw, it’s melodic, it’s beautiful and it’s from the heart. The sonic palette that Justin Vernon and Co. possess is just something to behold. The combination of instruments and sounds heard on the record are something to behold. Throughout the collection of new music, such sounds heard include tribal beats, a banjo, vocal samples, keys, guitars and of course the use of auto-tune – no artist uses auto-tune better – not even T-Pain.

Justin Vernon and crew craft and produce sounds so uniquely that you simply can’t compare them to any other musician. ‘22, A Million’ is distinctly Bon Iver, and Bon Iver personifies ‘22, A Million’.

’22, A Million’ is out on the 30th September 2016

This Bon Iver article was written by Jac Manuell, a GIGsoup contributor